POLS 1000 Lecture 4: Week 4 - Athenian Democracy
2 Nov 2016
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Document Summary
Democratic experience is born in precise time in western history - birth of democracy in. Other polis/city-states that are democratic, but athens is best example of rst democracy. This democratic experience takes a particular political form known as the polis. Polis - small political unit allowing for immediate contact with fellow citizens and with means of community. Citizens will express identity through political participation and therefore help shape the community - the community, in turn, will become collective expression of the identity of each citizen. Democracy is more a way of life than a set of institutions or a particular regime. Athens went from aristocratic political community to democratic. Because of pressures exerted from two social forces excluded from political life - merchants and peasants. Aristocratic athenian polis was forced to become democratic - con ict within polis. Without compromise, these con icts could lead to civil war - the worst thing to happen to a political community.
